ROCKY HILL - In a long-awaited debate amid an increasingly nasty campaign, Democrats Ned Lamont and Dannel Malloy held a largely civil discussion Tuesday afternoon that was essentially a one-hour timeout from the accusations they have been hurling at each other.

The candidates largely focused on issues ranging from the state budget and highway tolls to education and casino gambling in response to questions that were posed by two moderators at the studio of WFSB-TV, Channel 3.

In the only question focusing on the barrage of television commercials that have been filling the airwaves, moderator Dennis House asked Malloy if his commercial suggests that Lamont "may be a racist.'' He also asked Lamont about if his commercial suggests that Malloy is "corrupt.''

"No, I do not think that Ned is unfit to be governor, nor have I ever accused him of being a racist,'' Malloy replied. "Ned has, in fact, told the people of the state of Connecticut that they should hire him based on his business acumen - the way he has run his business, his CEO style. In fact, he's gone around the state saying he wants to be the state's CEO. ... I think it's fair to point out that in the service of his company, he downsized the workforce by 70 percent and that, a number of years ago, there was a bias lawsuit filed against him in the amount of $1 million. ... I think it's a legitimate issue for people to be aware of, just as things that Ned is saying may be legitimate about me.''

Lamont, who was a former volunteer teacher at Harding High School in Bridgeport, has had wide support in the African-American community. He was surrounded by the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton in photos after his primary victory over U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman in August 2006.

Lamont, too, replied that he did not believe that Malloy was unfit to be governor.

"No, not at all,'' Lamont said in his first response before moving on to the accusations about his cable company. "I'd like to set the record straight. Twenty five years ago, I started up a business, borrowed some money from a local bank, hung out my shingle, and over the last 25 years, we have taken on the cable industry, beat them at their own game, building systems around the country. I've been working with the folks at my company for years. It's good work, good pay. I'm proud to be with these people, and they've been with us for a long time because it's a good place to work. And that's what I want to do for the state of Connecticut.''

Malloy said he is proud of being Stamford's mayor and "bringing over 5,000 new jobs to the city.'' That statement, however, has prompted a dispute in the campaign because state labor statistics show that Stamford has lost more than 13,000 jobs since reaching the peak employment level in 2000. High-rise towers have been built in the city's downtown core, but the city's commercial vacancy rate has been rising since the city lost more than 5,000 jobs between June 2008 and June 2009.

"His dispute is not with me. His dispute is with the bureau of labor statistics,'' Lamont said after the debate.

In comments after the debate, Lamont showed more fire than he did when the cameras were on. He was asked after the debate about accusations that he has raised about city contractors who performed work on Malloy's house in the Shippan section of Stamford while he was mayor. Since the investigation of Malloy had become public, the chief state's attorney's office took the unusual step of releasing a letter at the end of the inquiry that said that there was "no credible evidence of criminal wrongdoing'' in the case by Malloy.

"The point is, if I was governor of the state of Connecticut, would I have a state contractor working on my home? No,'' Lamont told reporters. "Would I be collecting money from people doing business with my state? No. It's not a question of legality with me. It's a question of right and wrong.''

Lamont conceded that Malloy's negative commercials have made the race closer since they started on July 23.

"He went up with a non-stop negative for five days, and it has an impact. I know,'' Lamont said.

Regarding charges by Malloy about layoffs in his cable company, Lamont told a Hartford political reporter, "Put this down. There were no layoffs. That is fundamentally not true, and you know it, and he knows it because he read your article.''

Despite the civility of the one-hour debate, there was no indication Tuesday that the negative commercials would cease before next week's primary.

Lamont had said that, after the Windham regional chamber of commerce debate last week at the University of Connecticut, that he asked Malloy personally if he took down his negative commercials, then Lamont would stop his, too. Lamont reissued that statement Tuesday to reporters. But the commercials are still running.

Some of Lamont's supporters admit that Malloy clearly gained some traction when he started a negative TV ad campaign on Friday, July 23, and Lamont was relatively slow to respond on television. Now, however, both candidates have negative commercials running simultaneously on the air.

Malloy said Monday night in Hartford that he has stopped polling, but some of Lamont's supporters question why he would stop polling when he still has TV ads running.

Coverage of the debate by reporters was embargoed until after the program was broadcast on Channel 3 at 3 p.m. No statistics were immediately available on how many people watched the debate on a warm August afternoon near the peak of the vacation season.

The replay was being shown at 8 p.m. Tuesday on Connecticut Public Television.

After the debate, the candidates did not back off any of the positions they have staked out in recent weeks and months. Malloy brought up a racial discrimination lawsuit against Lamont's company that was eventually settled with a confidentiality agreement.

But Mark Davis, a veteran Channel 8 television reporter, interrupted and said, "But those kinds of agreements are routinely sealed, and you know it.''

"No, actually, I'm going to push back a little bit here,'' Malloy responded. "If you talk about those kinds of agreements, those kinds of agreements come back as a result of somebody paying more money to have it happen.''

Overall, the televised hour of the debate was relatively low-key.

"I think it was a great debate,'' Malloy said. "I think it was civil in its discourse. ... It was fruitful, I thought.''

"He had some great one-liners, just like every CEO does. They get to do that sort of thing,'' Malloy said. "If he thought I was such a bad guy, he probably wouldn't have invited me to his anniversary two years ago.''

Lamont said: "Put this down. There were no layoffs. That is fundamentally not true, and you know it, and he knows it because he read your article.'' OOPS?

Well, Ned forgot to tell that to a paid Lamont for Senate campaign research staffers in 2006.

According to the Lamont staffer;
Since 2002, Lamont's business employees dropped by 57%.
Of those former employees, who are no longer working with Lamont, Only about 33% WERE LAID OFF.
The others proximately 67% found work somewhere else "voluntarily".

The above information about Lamont lay-offs and employees who left voluntarily is extrapolated from an October 2006 Huffing ton Post article written by a volunteer supporter of Ned Lamont's candidacy who became a paid Lamont for Senate campaign research staffer.
Of special note is that the Lamont staffer quoted his Sources as: Hartford Courant, 10/13/06; Lamont Digital Systems salary records; New York Times, 8/3/06; LDS employment records.

I don't know, but I would think you had to have some inside information, close to the source, to be able to say you got the information from Lamont Digital Systems salary and employment records. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

This does NOT mean Lamont is a bad guy. Rather, he must be careful within his own Technological Information World. Records can be checked.

If Ned wins the primary, (and I hope he does not), Ned will have to learn that what he says today can be checked against what was said at some other time.

Like KeepLeft said: “Somethings can be transparent even when you do not want them to be.” Oh my!

The wife already voted for lamont by absentee due to handicap issues. I am voting in person on August 10th for Lamont. Nothing against Malloy though. i would vote for any democrat against the gop nominee.